iced chai tea latte
July 13, 2011 § 10 Comments
Last week, while flipping through a photo montage of Will and Kate’s North American visit, a photo of Kate’s shoes caught my eye – it looked like there was something on her foot. I squinted my eyes and leaned in closer. “Looks like something on her pantyhose,” I remarked. Jade, standing next to me chimed in, “yeah, but it’s just on one pantyho, though.” I immediately paused. Um, what?! Maintaining my composure so as not to upset or startle her, I said calmly, “What was that, honey?” And again, she repeated that there was something on the foot of Kate’s ‘pantyho’.
Long story short, she thought when referring to one leg the word was ‘pantyho’ and two legs ‘pantyhose’. Makes sense though, right? If you’ve never seen it spelled, ‘pantyho’ singular and ‘pantyhose’ plural is very logical.
I think I laughed until I cried.
You know, the nine-year-old version of life sure seems to be a lot more fun than the stale old adult life I’ve been living these days. I think that’s one of the reasons why being around children is so good for us older, world-weary types: we get to watch them process and understand the world from their vantage point. And I’ll be honest, it’s bittersweet when it begins to rub off a little. I corrected the ‘pantyho’ misconception as I did with the coffee cake, and that’s now one more thing crossed off the list between being a child and becoming a young adult.
Another non-childlike thing to add to the list? The reception of this chai tea latte. Jade completely surprised me when I handed her one and she slurped it right down (I used decaf tea, by the way). I really didn’t think she’d go for it as I felt it was more of an ‘adult’ drink with all the spices; heck, I didn’t think I’d go for it. I’d had one once years ago and I didn’t care for it at all, and I’ve avoided chai tea since. However, the homemade version with freshly brewed tea and lots of fresh spices made me rethink giving it a try, and I’m glad I did. As the mixture boils and steeps, it begins to smell a lot like Christmas, but once you cool it and mix with milk and ice, you’ve got yourself one refreshing summertime drink – perfect for children, adults, and those of us in between.
Iced Chai Tea Latte
Keep in mind that when you make the chai tea concentrate, the mixture has to cool completely before mixing with milk, so you might want to plan ahead as this is not a spur-of-the-moment drink. I tried this with both regular 1% milk and unsweetened almond milk, and though both were good, I did prefer the regular milk as it was a bit creamier. For a hot drink, warm the concentrate and the milk together slowly in a saucepan and serve in a mug (a cinnamon stick stirrer would be cute!).
Ingredients
6 tablespoons Chai Tea Concentrate, recipe follows
¾ cup milk, regular or non-dairy
Ice
Directions
Mix the chai tea concentrate and milk in a glass. Add ice and serve.
Makes 1 latte.
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Chai Tea Concentrate
This recipe makes enough for four lattes. You can double it if needed.
About the spices: this recipe calls for spices that are quite expensive, and which you might not use otherwise. My solution was to buy the spices from the bulk bins at our local natural foods store, which cost roughly $1. If you like the spices ‘spicier’, add more.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons sugar
8 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
1 one-inch slice fresh ginger, peeled
5 whole cloves
4 whole black peppercorns
2 black teabags
2 cups fresh filtered water
½ tablespoon honey
Directions
Combine all ingredients except the honey in a small saucepan. Add the filtered water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat slightly and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove the teabags, squeezing out any liquid from them. Let the spices steep for another 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, removing all the spices. Add ½ tablespoon honey and stir. Taste, adding more honey if you like.
Cool completely before mixing into lattes, or cool and cover tightly, keeping in the fridge until ready to use.
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Adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen.
Yay! Will have to try this recipe. I sometimes see vanilla added into the mix as well. Your daughter says the cutest things! I hope you’re writing down all these Jade-isms. She’ll get a kick out of it when she’s an “old adult” herself. ;)
That’s such a funny story — oh, to see the world through a child’s eyes :)
I’ll definitely be trying this recipe out very soon!
Lauren – you read my mind, I think vanilla would be really good in this. And yes, I am realizing I have to put these ‘Jade-isms’ on paper because I will forget. Yesterday her discovery was that women have eggs (we were talking about how twins come about; fraternal vs. identical) – I watched her wheels spin, and then she exclaimed “You mean I HATCHED in your belly?” It was hysterical, but I always save the laughter for later :)
Laken – Kids are so good for the adult soul :) I hope you like the latte!
Wonderful concoction! I love having hints of winter/fall during summer. It can be quite refreshing. Well, I have got to go–there’s a run in my pantyho that needs some fixing!
~pantyho~…..I must have told four therapists in the office this week what she said….
Jade=Gemini Rising= Priceless
x
Well this looks delicious! Congrats on a beautiful blog.
Found It – Ha ha ha!
Poalua – Isn’t she just the best?
Mandy – Thank you!
Thanks for the laugh and the great recipe.
I love chai lattes, but I’ve never made one myself. Must make, for sure! And thanks for the tip on buying the spices from the bulk bins. That will be very helpful
I love chai lattes! This will be way better than going to Starbucks lol. Thanks for sharing! I’m new to blogging here and I just love how supportive and creative everyone is! If you have time, could you please check out my blog? http://shecooksandheeats.wordpress.com/ If you have any, I would love some advice :)